“What does the ring look like?” asked Mal.

“It’s the big green one Cruella used to wear,” said Evie. “It’s pretty, actually. You think Carlos might give it to me instead?”

They walked past houses and buildings, but all of the doors were closed, curtains drawn. The entrance they’d used to enter this world was still open behind them. Through it Carlos could see just a little bit of the sandy desert, and he considered running back there. Retrieving his mother’s tallisman wasn’t exactly high on his list of favorite things to do.

The four of them walked down the center of the road. Just like the other two worlds, this one was empty. There were no people here; the entire place was quiet, a mere facade. Not a real city at all but a place held together by magic—a home for the talisman. He led them right, then left, then two rights, and he stopped, confused.

“Wait, that’s the door to the desert again,” Carlos said. “We’re walking in circles.”

“No, we’re not,” said Jay. “If we had walked in circles we would have only made right turns. I definitely recall a left.”

They set off again, this time turning left, left, then right, then left, then right again. But once more, they came to the same doorway.

“Think we’re in some kind of magic maze?” Mal asked. “Let me guess: the map can’t help us.”

Carlos checked, looking at the map from different angles. “Actually, according to the map, the house should be right here, where we’re standing. I’m not sure what’s going on, if the landscape is shifting so it doesn’t match the map, or I’m reading it wrong.”

“At least we have the door to the desert,” said Jay. We can always go back the way we came….Why are you looking at me like that?”

Carlos pointed. The door wasn’t there anymore.

“We’re trapped!” yelped Evie.

“And it doesn’t seem to want us to find what we’re looking for, and it doesn’t look like there’s a way out of here,” said Mal.

“Maybe it’ll appear. I don’t know how magic works. Let’s keep walking,” said Carlos.

“In circles?” asked Jay.

“You have a better idea?” asked Mal.

“I guess not,” Jay admitted. “Okay, carry on, circles are fine.”

“Maybe if we keep walking we’ll see something else,” said Carlos.

They kept going, looking for the house, and once again they ended up where they began. “Hold on,” said Carlos. “I think the map is right. The House of Horrors is right here.”

“But these are all regular buildings, not mansions,” said Evie. “I don’t see Hell Hall anywhere.”

“The talisman isn’t in Hell Hall, I made a mistake,” said Carlos, pointing to a dusty window that had been right in front of them all along. He hadn’t noticed it because he had assumed that the “House of Horrors” was his mother’s house. This was a fur shop, and in the corner was a sign that read HOUSE OF HORRORS. SALE TODAY!

“I think I’m supposed to do some shopping,” said Carlos.

“Well, go on, then,” said Jay.

“I’m going! Give me a sec,” said Carlos.

But he didn’t move. He couldn’t.

“Come on, man, just do it. You know you can. Go!” said Jay, giving him a little push.

Finally, Carlos opened the door and looked over his shoulder. “You guys probably can’t come in, can you?” he asked hopefully. But sure enough, when Mal, Evie, and Jay tried to follow, they were barred from entering.

“We’ll wait here,” said Evie.

“Good luck,” said Mal. “You’ll need it.”

“Bring back that ring soon. I’m getting hungry,” said Jay.

Carlos swallowed his fear, squared his shoulders, and walked inside.

The House of Horrors didn’t live up to its name at all, for when Carlos stepped inside, he found it was an elegant fur shop. The room was decorated in the manner of a fabulous salon, with racks and racks of elegant fur coats everywhere. There were fox chubbies, sable throws, mink stoles, floor-length trenches, and fur-trimmed opera capes. White Mongolian vests, black goat-hair ponchos, cozy raccoon cocoon coats, cheetah-print boleros, and silver-tipped mantles.

There was an elevator at the back of the store, and he walked toward it, as if drawn there by an invisible cord. The doors opened silently and he entered, his hand pulled to the button for the topmost floor.

When Carlos stepped out of the elevator, he was no longer inside a fur shop. Instead, he was walking through a mist, a gray cloud that covered everything. In the distance, he saw a green light blinking.

He walked toward it, his heart thudding in his chest, hoping he wouldn’t chicken out. The youngest of the group, Carlos was often worried that while he was smart enough, he wasn’t as brave as the others were. It had taken a great force of will to enter the House of Horrors alone.

The mists parted and he saw the ring at last. It was indeed as large as a quail egg and as green as a spring meadow. And it was Cruella de Vil’s ring all right, because she was wearing it.

Carlos stepped back with a yelp.

“Hello, darling,” his mother said, blowing a cloud of smoke in his face. “Looking for this?”

“You found it?” he asked. “You found your talisman?”

“Well, of course I did, child! It’s mine!” she screeched.

He was too late, Carlos realized. Cruella already had her ring.

“Shoo, boy, don’t you know when to leave your mother alone?” sneered Cruella.

Carlos backed away, petrified. He had failed his friends, and he had failed Auradon. But even as he beat himself up, he remembered Yen Sid’s words. You possess a keen intellect; however, do not let your head rule your heart. Learn to see what is truly in front of you.

Everything in his brain told him to run from his mother, that she had already captured the talisman. There she stood, hitching her furs across her shoulders, glaring at him.

Cruella had always haunted his nightmares, with her crazed declarations and frenzied hysterics. What was truly in front of him? What didn’t he see? What was he missing?

His head screamed at him to run….

But his heart…His heart told him to stay and fight, that even if he was deathly afraid, he had to find a way to get the ring away from her. He had to prove to himself that he was brave enough, and that he was enough.